Bowman living up to potential

Before he was teaming up with Patrick Willis, 49ers linebacker NaVorro Bowman was linked to another legendary linebacker, LaVar Arrington.

Bowman and Arrington both went to Penn State – Linebacker U – and they formed a close teacher-student friendship during Bowman’s three seasons at State College.

Arrington, 33, a two-time All-American at Penn State and the No. 2 overall pick in the 2000 draft, met Bowman when the young linebacker was at Suitland High in Forestville, Md.

Arrington, who stayed in the Washington, D.C. area after a seven-season NFL career that included three Pro Bowls with the Redskins, went on to become one of Bowman’s mentors at Penn State.

Before the 2009 season, Bowman’s last at Penn State, Arrington asked Bowman to wear his old number. No Nittany Lion had worn No. 11 since 1999 when Arrington won the Bednarik Award given to college football’s best defensive player.

On Friday, I spoke with Arrington for a feature story I wrote about Bowman that will appear in The Chronicle on Sunday. Arrington, who co-hosts a sports radio talk show and writes a Redskins blog for the Washington Post, is, not surprisingly, a huge fan of Bowman: He says he declared Bowman the “steal of the draft” when the 49ers grabbed him in the third round with the No. 91 overall pick last year.

Much of what Arrington said didn’t get into the newspaper story, so here are some of his insights on Bowman, who ranks eighth in the NFL in tackles (36):

* Bowman is a gifted athlete – he was also a running back and punter in high school – but Arrington stressed his off-the-charts instincts. And he did so quite colorfully, invoking Jason from the “Friday the 13th” movies.

“NaVorro is one of those type guys where he’s just going to be there,” Arrington said. “It’s like Jason. You remember how they used to run from Jason in the woods? And they’d be running fast as hell, but he’s always catching up to them. Not saying NaVorro is slow. Not saying he’s slow by any means. He just has this knack for how to get to the ball.

“And I think that was probably the knock on him coming out of school. A lot of people thought he was going to be a step too slow to be an effective linebacker. And that’s why I said he was definitely underrated because he’s one of those guys, no matter what level he’s on, he’s going to find his way to the ball. And I think people are figuring that out about him.”

* Arrington, who has mentored other players, said Bowman was eager to learn and was willing to accept pointed critiques.

“It’s like I tell guys, ‘I’ve been where you been. I’ve done what you’ve done,’” Arrington said. “This is about you. This isn’t about me. I’ve been to the mountaintop that way. Everything you could accomplish at that level, I’ve done it. At that position. So you can either listen. Or you can be a bonehead and you can try to figure it out yourself. I think that’s why I have such a tremendous amount of pride when I speak about NaVorro. It’s because I know he listened.”

* Add Arrington to the list of people – 49ers coaches, the Eagles press-box announcer last week – who have had trouble distinguishing San Francisco’s two inside linebackers this season. Said Arrington, without prompting, “Half the time, I can’t tell Pat from NaVorro.”